Each week, there are dozens of Apple rumors, reports, and patent filings that hint at what's coming out of Cupertino next. Some are legit, but most are totally bogus. As always, we've parsed the week's rumors, ranking them in order from "utterly ridiculous" to "duh, of course." First up…
DON'T COUNT ON IT: Apple Reintroducing 8GB iPhone 4 for India
In foreign markets, the high price of a non-subsidized iPhone is a big deterrent for many potential buyers. According to The Economic Times, Apple could be re-releasing the 8GB iPhone 4 in order to address that problem in India. The company would not put the older iPhone unit into production again, but would instead just start selling unsold inventory. It sounds like an unusual move for Apple, but the Cupertino company has been trying to gain a stronger foothold in emerging smartphone markets.
ASK AGAIN LATER: 5-Inch Full HD Display for Next iPhone, Flexible AMOLED for 'iWatch'
DisplaySearch put out some predictions for 2014 based on what they've seen in the supply chain. The next iPhone could be 4.7-inches with a 1,600 x 900 pixel resolution (which would maintain the iPhone's current 16:9 aspect ratio). Apple could also release an iPhone with a 5.5-inch display and 1,920 x 1,080 pixel resolution. We've been seeing indications that Apple could up the size of the iPhone display in this year's model. DisplaySearch also predicts that if Apple debuted a wearable, it'd go AMOLED, with 1.3 or 1.6-inch units.
ASK AGAIN LATER: A Wireless Payment Solution for Apple
There are a host of technologies Apple could use, and yet the company hasn't come up with a secure e-wallet payment platform -- yet. A patent application published Thursday describes how Apple could enable easy wireless payments using a platform like iBeacons. iBeacons are Bluetooth LE transmitters that can send notifications to devices in range. Apple deployed them in over 250 of its retail stores last year, and they’re appearing in other big name retailers nationwide too. Anyways, Apple's patent would actually use two wireless protocols, like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, to complete a transaction, and sensitive information (i.e., your credit card data) would be stored in a "secure element" aboard the device itself -- perhaps the A7's secure enclave? The entire transaction is encrypted as well.
SIGNS POINT TO YES: A Seamless FaceTime Stream Could Be in the Future
One of the most irritating things about video chatting using a service like FaceTime is when the connection is subpar and it starts dropping frames. You end up with awkward, choppy video and audio. Apple has invented a way to use pre-recorded or manipulated images to give the illusion of a smooth, seamless stream even when bandwidth is low. Basically, FaceTime would be able to search through a database of information on the frames that have already been sent and find a best match for when frames are going to get dropped, filling the void. Another method would morph the image based on what appeared in the last frame. To help in low-bandwidth scenarios, objects in the back of the frame would be transmitted at a lower resolution than objects at the front (like your face). This seems like a legitimate solution Apple could implement in the future -- if not exactly this, then something like it.
SIGNS POINT TO YES: Future Final Cut Pro Features Revealed in 3D Video Editing Patent
The Mac Pro is a beast of a desktop machine, designed specifically for handling all the intensive tasks software like Final Cut Pro can throw at it. Multiple 4K video streams? No problem. But what about 3D? It doesn't do that yet, but it could. A new Apple patent describes how a media editing application could manipulate a stereoscopic 3D image. Stereoscopic video is normally shot using two cameras, so the app would be able to associate these pairs of clips using a synchronized time code and their embedded metadata. When edits are made to one clip (color correction, cuts, and trims), they're applied to the other simultaneously.
